New England's needs are plentiful this offseason. How will Mike Vrabel make use of the team’s more than $127M in cap space in free agency?

The start of the Mike Vrabel era will bring either serious optimism or dread depending on what the New England Patriots do in free agency. It's that time of the year when the stench of the past is replaced with the whimsical smell of something new.

The Patriots made a splash Monday when the team signed defensive tackle Milton Williams to a record-setting deal, and that was just one of the big moves the team made on the first day of NFL free agency.